Surprise Team Made Hail Mary Play for Michael Jordan Before He Signed With Wizards

In between his second and third retirements, Chicago Bulls immortal Michael Jordan was an above-average shooting guard for the Washington Wizards for two seasons after a short stint in their front office.

Before Jordan decided to suit up in Washington, however, new Mavericks owner Mark Cuban tried to bring him to Dallas. Cuban and David Falk, Jordan's agent, had ironed out a deal that would have sent MJ to the Mavs, but the plan never materialized.

Jordan was an executive for a brief period with the Wizards, but he earned less-than-stellar reviews after he used a No. 1 overall pick on high schooler Kwame Brown before mentally destroying him by shattering his confidence in practice.

Jordan than returned to the court, coached by former Bulls boss Doug Collins, and put up two more seasons in which he averaged 21.2 points per game cumulatively before retiring for the final time.

If Cuban could snap his fingers and get Jordan in Dallas, paring him with Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, and Michael Finley would have made for quite the combination.

Jordan playing in a Mavericks jersey would have made for a very strange fit, but him playing with an orange moon on his navy blue jersey with the Wizards was an equally strange fit. You can never accuse Cuban of not uncovering every stone to make the Mavericks better.